Track.



A. LANGE.

TRACK. APPLICATION FILED IAN. 27, I915.

1,196,958. Patented Sept. 5,1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

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A. LANGE.

v TRACK.

APPLICATION FILED JAN-.27. 1915.

1,1 96,958. PatentedSept. 5,1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- ms NORRIS rsrsns camnum-umc. musnmnmn. n. c.

ANDREAS-LANGE, 0F SCHij'NIN'GEN, NEAR HELMSTEDT, GERMANY.

TRACK.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANDREAS LANGE, a citizen of the German Empire, andresident of Schoningen, near Helmstedt, Germany, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Tracks, of whichthe following is aspecification. I I

invention relates to improvements in tracks, and more particularly intracks which consist of a plurality of rails located one beside theother and adapted to be shifted laterally together with the sleepers orcrossties supporting the same. Tracks of this class are used for-examplein connection with dredging machines and their cars, and in this casethe tracks are gradually shifted laterally of the direction of themovement of the machines as the Work of the latter proceeds, andsuchshifting is effected either by hand or by special machines. It hasgenerally been found to be a considerable inconvenience, that byshifting the tracks the rails which are secured to sleepers ofconsiderable length are loosened, so that after shifting the tracks therails must be secured .again' to the sleepers, and that the sleepers aredestroyed after a short time. These objections are serious because forfixing the rails to the cross-ties a large number of workmen isnecessary, if the operation of the dredging machine can not beinterrupted for a considerable time, and because the cost of thesleepers is high.

The object of the improvements is to provide a track of this class inwhich these 0bjections are removed.

With this object in view. my invention consists in providing a track inwhich only a part of the rails are rigidly secured to the cross-ties,while the other rails are loosely supported on the ties, the loose railsbeing held at the proper distance from the fixed rails by beingconnected therewith and with one another by transverse connectingmembers, the fixed rails and transverse connecting members providing arigid frame to which the rails are secured and which is connected withthe sleepers only by the fixed rails.

This construction is advantageous also for this reason that for shiftingthe tracks the machine or the workmen have to support only a part of theweight of the section of the track which is being shifted toSpecification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January. 27, 1915.

Patented Sept. 5, 1916.

Serial No. 4,651.

gether with the cross-ties, because only the rails which are looselysupported on the cross-ties are lifted, while the cross-ties slide withtheir ends on the ground. Therefore the power required for shifting thetrack is reduced, and furthermore the crossties are subject to lessstrain, because the power for shifting the tracks is transmitted to theloose rails through the transverse connecting members and not throughthe crossties.

For the purpose ofexplaining the invention an example embodying the samehas been shown in the accompanying drawings, in which the same lettersof reference have been used in all the views to indicate correspondingparts.

In said drawingsFigure 1, is an .end view of a dredging machine and acar mounted onthe track, Fig. 2, is across-section of the track, Fig. 3,is a plan view of a section of the track, Fig. i, is a detail viewshowing the joint of a pair of rails, and Fig. 5, is a cross-sectionsimilar to that shown in Fig. 2 and illustrating in an exaggerated Waythe position of a cross-tie and the rails mounted thereon in the stateof being lifted.

In the drawings I have illustrated the invention in a track which isused in connection with a dredging machine. But I wish it to. beunderstood, that my invention is not limited-to-such use.

As shown a dredging machine 1 runs on rails 2, '3, i, the rail 4 beingprovided for supporting the part of the dredging machine which is termedthe tender 5. The soil which has been taken up by the scoops or buckets6 of the machine is fed into conveying cars 7 which run on rails 8 and 9disposed between the rails 3 and 4. All the rails 2, 3, L, 8, and 9 aresupported on crossties 10 which are common to all the rails.

In tracks of the old construction all the rails are secured to thecross-ties lOas rigidly as possible. But in my improved track only therails 8 and 9 on which the'cars 7 run are rigidly secured to thecross-ties. These rails are secured in the usual way by means of hookedplates 11 and 12 which are secured to the cross-ties by means of bolts13and 1 passing through the cross-ties. The other rails 2, .3, and 4 areloosely supported on the cross-ties. For holding the rails at theirproper distances from one another, I employ transverse connectingmembers 15, 16, and 17 similar to the spacing bars or gage bars the useof which is wellknown in connection with the two rails of ordinarytracks in the example shown in the drawings these connecting membersconsist of angle irons. The rails 4 are secured to the transverse member17 by means of two clamping plates 18 which are bolted to the member 17.The rails 8 and 9 are connected with the member 16 by clamping plates 19and 20, and the rail 3 is secured to the member 15 by means of aclamping plate 21 and a clamping brace plate 22 which engages with itsother end over the inner base portion of the rail 2. At the outside ofthe said rail a bracket 23 is provided which is particularly strong andwhich is made in a preferred embodiment of the invention of angle iron.This bracket assures the connection between the rail 2 and the member15, and simultaneously it provides a support for the rail 2 which issubject in the operation of the dredging machine, to the most heavystrain. The member 16 is connected with the members 15 and 17 by plates24 and 25 respectively connected to the respective members by bolts andnuts and in such a way, as to permit of a slight flexibility of theframe consisting of the parts 15, 16, and 17, for which purpose the nutsof the bolts are made more or less loose. The rails 2 and 3 whichprovide more particularly the track for the dredging machine proper canbe secured in relative position by means of cross-members 26 disposedbetween consecutive transverse members 15, 16 and 17. The members 15,16, and 17 are preferably provided about 9 feet apart.

Below the rails 2, 3, and 4 slide plates 27, 28, and 29 are provided onthe cross-ties 10. An example of a rail joint is shown in Fig. 4. Asshown it consists exclusively of a pair of fish plates 30 provided oneat each side of the rails, the object of the said fish plates being tohold the rail ends in their proper positions relatively to each other,while the rigidity of the rails is assured by thetrans verse members 15,16, and 17.

If it is desired to shift the track by means of a shifting machine fromthe position shown in Fig. 1 in the direction of the arrow shown in thesaid figure, the said shifting machine is placed on the rails 8 and 9which are rigidly secured to the cross-ties. WVhen the said machinegrasps and lifts the said rails, the rails 2, 3, and 4 which are looseon the cross-ties can slide on their plates 27, 28, and 29 withoutinjuring the cross-ties.

By reason of the plates 24 and 25 which connect the transverse members15, 16, and 17 and which are secured at each end by a single screwforming a pivot, the said joint 7 permits of a certain flexibility, sothat when lifting the rails 8 and 9 the track assumes a position whichhas been shown in an exaggerated way in Fig. 5. Therefore only a portionof the entire weight of the track portion (including the sleepers 10)lifted by the machine will rest on the machine, since the ends of thesesleepers or at least the left hand ends thereof are supported on theground, so that the work of the machine when shifting the track isreduced as compared to the old construction. Also when shifting therails by hand the same advantages are availed of by the newconstruction, in which case blocks are placed on the ground under therails 2 and 4 and in some cases also under the rail 3, so that thesleepersllo are relieved of the Weight of the said rai s.

A further advantage of my improved construction resides in the fact,that the maintenance cost of the track is reduced. In tracks of the oldconstruction accidents and derailments of the dredging machine were offrequent occurrence, because the rails 2 which in the operation of themachine are subject to high strain became loose on the sleepers and theattendants did not notice this in time, and much time was necessary torepair the plant. But in my improved track derailments will not occurfor these reasons. Instead of the expensive rail joints which arenecessary in the tracks of the old construction a joint can be providedwhich is simple in construction, because the connection between therails by the transverse members 15, 16, 17, 24, and 25 is suflicient.Therefore the cost of the rail joints is reduced to a minimum, which isso much the more important, because in the old construction the jointsare subject to injury by reason of the rigid construction. In myimproved track simple flat plates are sufficient, and thereby the axlesof the dredging machine can easily be exchanged by loosening the saidsimple joints and temporarily removing some of the rails. For thispurpose only a few screws must be loosened. Finally the construction ofthe track can easily be changed and the whole track re moved, becauseall the parts can easily be disconnected and reassembled.

I claim herein as my invention:

1. A track comprising a plurality of rails located one beside the other,common sleepers for all the rails, only a part of said rails beingsecured to said sleepers and the other ones being loosely supportedthereon, and transverse members connecting the loosely supported railswith the rails which are secured to the sleepers.

2. A track comprising a plurality of rails located one beside the other,common sleepers for all the rails, only a part of said rails beingsecured to said sleepers and the other ones being loosely supportedthereon, and

transverse linked members connecting the transverse members connectingthe loosely Y loosely supported rails With the rails Which supportedrails with the rails which are seare secured to the sleepers. cured tothe sleepers.-

3. A track comprising a plurality of rails In testimony whereof, I havesigned this 5 located one beside the other, common sleepspecification inthe presence of tWo subscrib- 15 ers for all the rails, only a part ofsaid rails ing Witnesses.

being secured to said sleepers and the other ANDREAS LANGE. ones beingloosely supported thereon, slide Witnesses: plates secured to thesleepers in positions for EDWIN EGENER,

supporting the loosely supported rails, and JULIUS SEGKEL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

